A
massive 8.2 earthquake has triggered a tsunami off of Chile's northern
coast. Waves as high as six feet have battered the coastline. At least
five people have been reported dead due to the occurrence.

Chileans calmly evacuated coastal areas on foot, with policemen helping bundled-up elderly people and some residents loading up vehicles with their belongings.

Highlights

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The deceased, officials say dead include people who were crushed by collapsing walls or succumbed to heart attacks.

The Chilean government has evacuated Chile's northern coast. President Michelle Bachelet declared the area a disaster zone, promising troops and police reinforcements to maintain public order while damage was repaired after landslides blocked roads.

"We're leaving with the children and what we can, but everything is clogged up by people fleeing buildings by the beach," one mother said, who was driving away with her three children.

Seismologists say the quake was shallow at 12.5 miles below the seabed and struck about 100 kilometers northwest of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border.

Chile's the world's foremost copper producer, saw little effected in the way of mining operations. However, about 300 prisoners took advantage of the emergency and escaped from a female penitentiary in Iquique.

About 26 of the women were soon recaptured, authorities said. Security forces fanned out through the area amid reports of power outages and isolated looting.

Chileans calmly evacuated coastal areas on foot, with policemen helping bundled-up elderly people and some residents loading up vehicles with their belongings.

Some schools were being used as shelters. LATAM Airlines said it had canceled some flights to and from Antofagasta, Iquique and Arica in northern Chile.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake generated a large tsunami with the biggest wave reported at about six feet. The Chilean navy reported that the first big wave hit the coast within 45 minutes. Chilean authorities later canceled their tsunami warning for most coastal areas.

Iquique is a key port, close to Chile's main copper mines. The area has been on high alert in recent weeks after an unusual number of tremors, and a series of aftershocks further frayed nerves in the early hours.

Pope Francis Prayer Intentions for OCTOBER 2017
Workers and the Unemployed. That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.